1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved astragal used with exterior double door installations, such as french doors. When attached to the edge of the generally inactive door, the astragal provides a door stop for the active door, a seal to prevent intrusion of water, and a means for locking the inactive door to the adjacent door header and door sill. The invention particularly pertains to extruded metal astragals capable of increasing the resistance of the double door system to failure under high wind conditions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Double doors constructed in the exterior walls of homes and businesses have become an increasingly popular means for optionally enlarging openings between the interior and exterior of structures. However, double doors provide a much greater risk to failure during high wind conditions than standard single doors. Not only do the double doors provide a large area of construction that is weaker than the structure""s walls, they have a central separation between the double doors with only a door latch and perhaps a deadbolt to maintain closure. The double doors flex inwardly and outwardly during high winds causing them to fail long before the building itself would have failed, but failure of the doors hastens the overall failure of the building.
Astragals have long been used to seal the separation between the double doors and at the same time increase the rigidity of the doors by providing a vertical member that is attached to one of the doors, normally the least active door. Without a means for locking one of the doors in a closed position, both doors may be easily forced opened by pulling or pushing on them, causing them to bow and flex, until a standard door latch and dead bolt are released from their retainers releasing the doors. Many astragals provide slidable bolts to lock the door to which it is attached in a closed position, allowing the other door to open and close freely. The astragal has an upper bolt that is extendable upwardly into the door frame header and a lower bolt that is extendable downwardly into the door frame sill, locking the door in the closed position. The astragal usually also provides a door stop to prevent the free door from pivoting past the closed position.
Examples of astragals are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,450, which was issued to Brad I. Procton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,332, which was issued to Joseph DiFazio, U.S. Pat. No. 3,649,060 which was issued to Robert Ruff, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,493 which was issued to William St. Aubin. Procton ""450 discloses an astragal constructed from a combination of wood and an aluminum extrusion. The means for attachment of the astragal to the door comprises a screw threaded through the wooden portion of the astragal and into the door proximal to one side of the door. With wind forces striking a door held by such an astragal, the astragal will fail when the screw is torn through the thin layer of wood covering the screws by shear forces.
The patents to Ruff ""060, St. Aubin ""493 and DiFazio ""332, each disclose an extruded astragal attached to a metal clad door by screws threaded through the center of the astragal and into the center of the doors. Pressure from high winds cause the double doors to flex inwardly and outwardly. This movement of the doors will cause the the astragal to pivot about the screw center line along the length of the door. This will cause the astragal to pull free from the door and the double doors to open. In addition, each of these doors has a single bolt extending from the top of the door and a single bolt extending from the bottom of the door, so that as the doors bow inwardly and outwardly from the wind pressure, the single bolt at the top of the door will be pulled free from the keeper that is attached to the header and the single bolt at the bottom of the door will be pulled free from the keeper that is attached to the sill. The bolt in Ruff ""060 is rectangular, with its longer axis extending perpendicular to the door frame, to increase the resistance to high winds, but the width of the longer axis of the bolt is much smaller than the thickness of the door, and therefore does not gain the full benefit of resistance to bowing of the door.
Not withstanding the existence of such prior art astragals, it remains clear that there is a need for an improved astragal capable of withstanding high wind forces.
The present invention relates to astragals that are used to seal and strengthen exterior double door installations in order to improve the doors resistance to forces applied by wind storm or by man. Double doors are particularly vulnerable to storm pressures and break-ins as, other than windows, double doors are the weakest points in the perimeter of buildings. The astragal of this invention is mounted to a double door assembly that includes an active door and a generally inactive door, each of which are pivotally mounted to a door frame. When the doors are closed the vertical edges of the doors are adjacent to one another and the doors overlie the sill of the door frame.
Most simply stated, the improved astragal of this invention comprises a longitudinally extending base member that has a first end and a second end, a first side and a second side, a front face and a rear face, and at least one longitudinally extending channel that is formed as a part of the base member. The channel itself has a first end and a second end. At least one bolt is slidably inserted in the channel adjacent to one of the first and second ends of the channel so that the bolt may be selectively movable between an extended position, where the bolt secures the generally inactive door, and a retracted position, which frees the door for pivoting. The astragal further provides a means for selectively locking the bolt in the channel in a retracted or extended position.
A longitudinally extending shield member and door stop is attached to the base member at generally right angles thereto to form a T-shaped cross-section. The shield member and door stop extends longitudinally substantially the length of the base member so that when the base member, or stem of the T-shaped member, is inserted between the double doors and is attached to the generally inactive door, the shield member and door stop provides sealing protection over the gap between the double doors and provides a door stop for the active door. The doors and the astragal may be arranged within the door frame so that doors swing inwardly or outwardly. If the doors swing inwardly the astragal will be attached so that the shield member and door stop will lie on the exterior side of the doors, and when the doors swing outwardly the shield member and door stop will lie on the interior side of the doors.
A first leg is attached proximal to the first side of the base member by its first end and its second end extends outwardly therefrom so that a portion of the first leg that is proximal to the second end of the leg has a surface that faces inwardly toward the base member. A second leg has a first end that is attached proximal to the second side of the base member and a second end that extends outwardly therefrom so that a portion of the second leg that is proximal to the second end of the second leg has an inwardly facing surface.
The astragal further comprises a longitudinally extending mounting cleat which is comprised of a body having a first end and a second end, a first side and a second side, a first arm extending outwardly from the first side of the body and a second arm extending outwardly from the second side of the body. The first arm and the second arm each have an outwardly facing surface formed thereon. The mounting cleat is sized and configured so that a portion of the mounting cleat is received between the base member and the first leg and a portion of the mounting cleat is received between the base member and the second leg such that the outwardly facing surface of the first arm engages the inwardly facing surface of the first leg and the outwardly facing surface of the second arm engages the inwardly facing surface of the second leg. The mounting cleat is provided with a means for attaching it to a door, thereby attaching the astragal thereto.
The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacturer possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.